Office of the State Fire Marshal

TOPEKA — Seventy volunteer and part-time fire departments across the state received funds this year through the Kansas Firefighter Recruitment and Safety Grant Program administered by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM). The grant awards will be used by fire departments for the purchase of safety gear, washer/extractor machines for cleaning bunker gear, start-up of Junior Firefighter programs and physical costs for firefighters with no insurance or ability to be reimbursed by their department.

Northwest Kansas departments receiving grant dollars included:

• Colby Fire Department
• Ellis County Fire Department
• Greeley County Fire Department
• Grinnell Rural Fire
• Norton Fire District #12
• Osborne County Rural Fire District #2
• Russell City Fire Department
• Ness County Fire District #3
(A full listing is below.)

This program was made possible with the 2018 State of Kansas budget passed by the state Legislature. Last year, 36 departments were awarded grant funds with the previous grant budget of $200,000. The OSFM was able to award grant funds to nearly twice as many departments this year, with the funding being doubled to $400,000.

Volunteer and part-time fire departments face recruitment and retention challenges because they do not have the funding to provide safety equipment. Without new equipment provided by the recruiting fire department, potential volunteers are faced with not only donating their time but also providing their own safety gear, sharing gear with others, or doing without. There is also a proven increase in cancer diagnoses for firefighters, which can be caused by prolonged exposure to carcinogens, particulates and biohazards. The proper gear, regular cleaning of that gear and equipment, along with preventative healthcare is crucial for a firefighter’s health and well-being.

This year, over $1.3 million in requests from 79 departments were submitted. Fire departments received approximately $310,000 to be used for safety gear and $90,000 for 26 washer/extractor machines. Due to the high number of requests, OSFM will be requesting the 2019 Legislature continue funding this important grant.

“We’ve seen, by the sheer number of requests for this funding, the need is high among our volunteer and part-time fire departments,” Doug Jorgensen, State Fire Marshal, said. “It is simply unacceptable to ask Kansans, not only to volunteer their time as first responders in smaller communities, but to also sacrifice their safety by not giving them the tools they need to protect and serve their communities as volunteer firefighters. This grant allows us to assist in providing some of the funds needed to provide safety equipment the departments otherwise could not afford.”

For more information on the Kansas Firefighter Recruitment and Safety Grant Program, visit https://firemarshal.ks.gov/agency-resources/kfrsg.

Edited to include Ellis County in list of grant recipients.

KDOT

RUSSELL SPRINGS — The Kansas Department of Transportation will host a public meeting regarding the upcoming construction and closure of K-25 south of Russell Springs for a bridge replacement project this spring. The meeting will take place on Thursday, Jan. 10, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Logan County Road Shop, 519 Armstrong, Russell Springs.

KDOT engineers will outline the construction phasing, provide details on the official state detour and answer questions regarding access to county roads. Construction is slated to begin in February and be completed by mid-October. Traffic will be detoured using U.S. 40, U.S. 83 and K-96.

The meeting location is ADA accessible. Persons in need of a sign language interpreter, an assistive listening device, large print or Braille material, or other accommodations to participate in this meeting should notify Lisa Mussman at (785) 877-3315 or [email protected].

KDA

MANHATTAN. — The Kansas Department of Agriculture–Division of Conservation announces the Riparian Quality Enhancement Initiative (RQEI) to provide financial assistance for the enhancement of riparian areas. This initiative will be made available to designated areas within the Delaware River, Stranger Creek, Little Arkansas River in western Kansas and Rock Creek Watersheds. Riparian areas are the vegetation and habitats along rivers and streams.

This initiative will support practices that provide new alternative water sources, increase riparian fencing, and enhance the riparian area. Projects will receive 80 percent cost share, with a limit that varies based on the type of project; funding will be through the Riparian and Wetland Protection Program. The streams that have been targeted for this initiative were selected because they are labeled as Total Maximum Daily Loading (TMDL) for E. coli or fecal coliform bacteria by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

All areas that are part of a producer’s grazing system are eligible for cost share — pasture, range and cropland — so long as livestock have access to the riparian area for water or shelter.

Interested producers should consult with their Conservation District or the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to submit a project proposal. All applications for the RQEI will be due by Feb. 15, 2019, and successful applicants will be notified by March 15, 2019.

For a full list of practices that can be included in the RQEI initiative, a map of the targeted watersheds, and additional program guidance, along with a link to contact information for Kansas Conservation Districts, go to agriculture.ks.gov/Riparian.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Business conditions improved last month in nine Midwest and Plains states despite shortages of skilled workers, according to a monthly survey report issued Wednesday.

The Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 55.2 in December from 54.1 in November, the report said. The October reading was 54.9. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth.

“The regional economy continues to expand at a positive pace,” said Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey. “However, as in recent months, shortages of skilled workers remain an impediment to even stronger growth. Furthermore, supply managers are reporting negative impacts from tariffs and trade skirmishes.”

The December employment index sank to 50.0 from 57.5 in November.

“Overall manufacturing employment growth in the region over the past 12 months has been very healthy at 2.3 percent, compared (with) a lower 2.2 percent for the U.S,” Goss said. “I expect this gap to close in the months ahead as regional job growth slows faster than national manufacturing job growth.”

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100, with a score above 50 suggesting growth. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Looking ahead six months, the December index for economic optimism fell to a still solid 54.1 from November’s 55.5.

“However, I expect business confidence to depend heavily on the Fed’s interest rate policies and trade talks with China,” Goss said. More than 43 percent of supply managers who responded to the survey expected profits for their companies to improve in 2019, he said.

The regional trade numbers turned sharply lower last month. The index for new export orders slumped to 48.1 from November’s 51.8, and the import index plummeted to 41.1 from 54.3 in November.

“Despite higher tariffs on imported goods, healthy regional growth boosted imports for the month,” Goss said.

OLATHE — MidAmerica Nazarene University recently announced its President’s, Dean’s List and Honor Roll for the fall 2018 semester. A total of 418 students qualified for one of the honors.

All students in traditional programs carrying 12 semester hours or more with a term GPA from 3.2 to 4.0 may qualify for one of these academic honors. Neutral credit hours are excluded from the calculation and reduce the course load used to figure the honor. The President’s List is a 4.0 grade point average for the semester; Dean’s List ranges from 3.5 to 3.99; and the Honor Roll is 3.2 to 3.49.

Following are MNU students named to the President’s List, Dean’s List and Honor Roll, listed by hometown:

Hays
Jeanie Balzer, Dean’s List

Palco
Emily E Roy, Dean’s List

Paradise
Jayden L Newbold, Dean’s List

MidAmerica Nazarene University is a private, Christian, liberal arts university of more than 1870 students. Offering 40 plus traditional undergraduate majors, the university is also known for its accelerated professional and graduate programs. Study abroad as well as service-learning experiences are encouraged through MNU’s Go Global and ServiceCorps programs. The campus is located on 105 acres in Olathe, Kansas. More information may be found at www.mnu.edu.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Vermont’s population is among the smallest in the U.S., but a study from United Van Lines indicates people are moving to the New England state.

Kansas had the fifth-highest percentage of outbound moves, the study found.

The suburban St. Louis-based moving company on Wednesday released its 42nd annual National Movers Study, which tracks customers’ state-to-state migration patterns.

Vermont has the second-smallest population among states, exceeding only Wyoming. Yet Vermont saw the highest percentage of inbound moves in 2018.

Four Western states filled out the top 5: Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Arizona.

New Jersey had highest percentage of outbound moves, followed by Illinois, Connecticut, New York and Kansas.

The study showed that Americans continue to move west and south. The Mountain West and South regions saw high percentages of inbound moves. The Northeast and Midwest had high percentages of outbound moves.

WALLETHUB

With the U.S. government closed for business for the 21^st time since 1976, this time with a partial shutdown, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on the States Most & Least Affected by the 2019 Government Shutdown to add some hard data to all the rhetoric.

According to the study, Kansas is the seventh least affected state by the partial shutdown.

Area entities that are closed include Fort Larned National Historic Site, Larned, and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Museum, and Boyhood Home in Abilene.

WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of five key metrics, ranging from each state’s share of federal jobs to federal contract dollars per capita to the share of families receiving food stamps.

Impact of the Government Shutdown on Kansas (1=Most Affected, 25=Avg.):

• 26^th – Share of Federal Jobs
• 42^nd – Federal Contract Dollars Per Capita
• 33^rd – Real Estate as a Percentage of GSP
• 46^th – % of Families Receiving SNAP (Food Stamps)

To view the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/government-shutdown-report/1111/